Weft detector for looms



Dec. 31, 19211.` G, FRECHETT 1,741,186

WEFT DETECTOR FOR LOOMSl Filed May 12, 1927 @Mge ecz? JMW@ 0*7 amel/5 l Patented Dec. 31, 1929 NITED STATES lna'li-:N'rV omer.

GEORGE FRECHETT, 0F LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON & KNOILES LOOM VIORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, lA CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS Y WEET DETECTOR Eon 'Leens Application filed May 12, 192fy Serial No. 190,901.

This invention relates to weft detectors for looms and it is a general object of the invention to simplify the application of a side slip weft detector to a multi-color weft replenishing loom.

rllhe usual multi-color magazine is provided with a floating actuator lever which receives a periodic vertical movement on detecting beats of the loom.` A controller pin is provided to interrupt the action of the actuator when weft is absent or exhausted to initiate replenishment. Furthermore, it is necessary to withdraw the detector on transferring beats of the loom in order to make clear the path of the incoming` bobbin and also to prevent a repetition of the indication. It is an important object of my present invention to provide a weft detector made of a single piece of wire mounted directly on the controller pin and held yieldingly in rear normal position by a light spring which will permit sidewise movement of the detector along a denuned bobbin.

It is a further object of my invention to provide means for yieldingly holding the detector to normal position so arranged that the forward movement of the detector will not vary the pressure of the means tending to hold the detector in non-indicating position. In this way I maintain uniform pressure on the detector independently of the back and forth movement thereof and the tendency to indicate is not increased as the detector moves forwardly, a condition which is true in many side slip feelers.

W'ith these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. .l'is atop plan view of my detector, showing the same moved to non-indicating position by a full supply of weft, the normal position being indicated in dotted lines,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation taken in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the detector vsecured thereto and a stop arm 16 to come in Contact with a portion of the structure to limit movement of the shaft in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3. A torsion spring 17 surrounding the shaft and interposed between the stand and a collar 18 secured to the shaft holds the arm 15 yieldingly in rear position. A controller pin 19 is pivotally connected as at 20 to the upper end'of arm 15 and extends through a hole 21 in horn 11 lying transversely of the slot 12. Spring 17 normally holds the controller pin 19 across the slot 12v under and in the path of the actuator lever 13 and when sui'iicient weft is present the pin will be withdrawn to permit downward movement of the actuator lever, but when exhaustion approaches the pin will remain under the lever to interrupt the downward movement thereof and thereby initiate replenishment, e

as set forth in patent to Ryon No. 1,030,748. With the exception of a detail in connection with the controller pin 19 the matter thus far described is of common construction and for a more extended description of the same reference may be had to the aforesaid patent.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide a feeler bed 30 held to the stand 10 by a bolt 31 and adjusted with respect thereto by a screw 32. Said bed has a horizontal platform 33 having struck upwardly therefrom a pair of guides 34. 'Ihe detector 40 is formed of a single piece of wire the rear end of which is provided with teeth 41 as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4 to enter a suiiicient supply of weft. The detector entends forwardly between the guides 34 and the platform 30 and then bends to the left and in front of a portion of the transfer' mechanism T, said wire being provided with a bend 42 and then extending forwardly and to the left to have the eyek 43 formed therein through which the controller pin 19 extends. The forward end of the wire may be bent to the right as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 to lie in front of the upper end of the arm 15. By means of the eye 43 and the front end 44 the detector is positioned at its forward end and is afforded a loose pivotal connection on the controller pin 19. The latter is provided with a crimp 45 which receives the left end of a light compression spring 46 the right end of which is held in the bend 42.

Under` normal conditions thel detector is in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 with the controller pin 19 under the actuator 13 and the transfer mechanism T in the rear position indicated in section of said figure and also with the teeth 41 held in proper' bobbin engaging position by reason of the fact that the light spring 46 holds the detector wire to the left against the left ends of the guides 34. When a sufficient supply of weft engages the teeth 41 the detector wire will move forwardly between the platform 33 and the guides 34 and will also move. the controller pin 19 from under the actuator lever 13 due to the previously described connection between the detector and pin. Sidewise movement'of the detector along the bobbin is restrained because the teeth 41 will be embedded in the yarn and indication of weft exhaustion will be prevented.

When insufficient weft remains, however, the spring 17 will act as a stop for the forward end of the wire detector and the teeth of the latter will slide along the bobbin B in the shuttle S to the full line position indicated in Fig. 4, light spring 46 yielding slightly to permit this sliding movement of the detector. Under these conditions the vcontroller pin 19 will remain under the actuator lever 13 to interrupt the downward movement of the latter and thereby initiate replenishment. It is to be understood that the eye 43 and the forward end 44 of the detector do not constitute a tight joint with respect to the controller pin and lever 15, but, on the other hand, permit the necessary movement of the detector along the bobbin.

0n a subsequent pick the transfer element T will move forwardly to engage the intermediate portion of the detector lying in front of said transfer mechanism and the detector will be moved forwardly out of the path of the incoming bobbin, the detector first moving to the right to engage the ends of the guides 34 and then upon continued movement of the transfer mechanism moving forwardly to draw the pin 19 from the path of the actuator to prevent a repeated indication and also to withdraw the rear end of the detectorfrom the path of the incoming bobbin.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a very simple weft detecting mechanism readily adaptable to multi-color magazines and that the light spring 46 moves forwardly with the detector so that the tendency of the detector to move along the bobbin is not increased or reduced during the forward movement of the detector. This result is achieved by having the light spring 46 supported jointly by the detector and the controller pin. It will further be seen that the wire detector by means of simple formation on the forward end thereof will be held against accidental displacement with respect to the controller pin.

Having thus described by invention it will be apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a side slipping weft detector for looms, a detector held against side slipping movement when in contact with a suflicient supply of weft and having a yarn-engaging surface to move along and in contact with a substantially exhusted bobbin to effect indication of weft exhaustion, an actuator having a regular movement and effective when the movement thereof is interrupted to initiate weft replenishing, a controller for said actuator normally in the path of the latter, yielding means interposed between said controller and detector to resist side-slipping movement of said detector, means defining a pivotal connection between the detector and the controller offset in the direction of the length of the surface being detected relatively to the yarn-engaging surface of the detector, and a second yielding means holding the detector and controller normally in rear position with the controller in the path of the actuator, the detector moving the controller forwardly out of the path of the actuator when said detector is engaged by a suicient supply of weft.

2. In a side slipping weft detector for looms, a detector member held against side slipping movement when in contact with a sufficient supply of weft and having a yarnengaging surface to move along and in contact with a substantially exhausted bobbin to effect indication of weft exhaustion, an actuator having a regular movement and effective when such movement is interrupted to initiate weft replenishment, a controller for said actuator normally in the path ofthe latter, yielding means interposed between said controller and said detector to resist sideslipping movement of said detector, means defining a loose pivotal connection between the detector and the controller offset in the direction of the length of the surface being detected relatively to the yarn-engaging surface of the detector, and a second yielding means for said controller, said controller and detector moving forwardly against the action of the second yielding means when yarn is present in sufficient quantity for continued weaving and said controller being held in the path of the actuator by said second yielding means when the detector slides along a substantially exhausted bobbin.

3. In a side slipping weft detector for looms, a detector member held against side slipping movement when in contact with a suliicient supply of weft and having a movement along and in contact with a substantially exhausted bobbin to effect indication of weft exhaustion, a regularly moving actuator effective when movement thereof is interrupted to effect a change in the operation of the loom, a controller for said actuator, yielding means to hold said controller normally in the path of the actuator, means establishing a pivotal connection between the detector and the controller, said yielding means holding the detector normally in rearward position and said detector moving the controller against the action of the yielding means out of the path of the actuator when sufficient weft for continued weaving is present, and additional resilient means interposed between the controller and the detector and movable forwardly with the controllerl and detector to hold the latter in proper angular position and to restore the same to proper angular position after a side slipping movement.

t. In a side slipping weft detector for looms, a regularly moving` actuator, a controller therefor normally in the path thereof, a side slipping weft detector pivotally mounted on the controller and moving forwardly when sufficient weft is present to move the controller out of operative relation with respect to the actuator, and said detector having sliding movement along and in contact with a substantially depleted supply of weft, and additional resilient means interposed between the controller and the detector, said controller and detector moving forwardly together on non-indicating detecting beats of the loom and the additional resilient means retaining substantially the same tension throughout the forward movement of the detector on non-indicating beats of the loom.

,J 5. In a weft detecting mechanism for looms, an actuator to initiate a change in the operation of the loom, a controller normally in the path of said actuator, a weft detector pivoted directly to the controller and movable forwardly with said controller when in contact with a sufficient supply of weft and movable angularly with respect to the detector when moving along a substantially depleted supply of weft, and resilient means interposed between and supported by and moving with the controller and the detector to hold the latter in normal position, said resilient means preserving substantially the same tension between the detector and the controller as said detector moves forwardly on a non-indicating detecting beat of the loom.

6. In a weft detecting mechanism for a loom having an actuator to initiate a change in the operation of the loom and a surface to be detected, a pair of members pivotally connected together one to control and arrest movement of the actuator and one to cooperate with the surface to be detected, and resilient means interposed between and movable with said membersto preserve substantially the same angular relation between said members as the detector is moved forwardly in contact with a sufficient supply of weft.

7. In a weft detecting mechanism for a loom having an actuator to initiate a change in the operation of the loom and a surface to be detected, a pair of members pivotally connected together one to control the actuator and the other to cooperate with the surface n to be detected, means to hold the rear portions of said members in spaced relation, and resilient means interposed between and supported by and moving with said members, said members moving forwardly when sulficent weft is present to preserve substantially the same tension on the part of the resilient means and said resilient means yielding when the detector slides along the surface to be detected to have an angular movement with respect to the controller member.

8. In a weft detecting mechanism for looms having an actuator and a surface to be detected, a controller member to control the operation of the actuator, a detector member formed of a piece of wire bent around and in front of a controller member to have pivotal connection with the latter, yielding means to hold the controller member normally under the actuator, resilient means supported by and moving with the members tending to draw the rear ends of said members together, and a stop to limit movement of the rear end of the detecting member toward the controller member, said members moving forwardly against the yielding means when sufcient weft is present and said controller remaining at rest when insuflicient weft is present and the detector moving against the action of the resilient means to have an angular movement with respect to the controller along and in contact with a substantially depleted bobbin.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affiXed my signature.

GEORGE FRECHETT. 

